Ayala Corp. 2Q net income up 21 percent

Ayala Corp., one of the country's oldest conglomerates, said on Friday that its net income for the second quarter of the year increased by 21 percent to P2.3 billion, buoyed by robust performance of its real-estate and banking units. "The results in the second quarter reflect a strong rebound from the lows of the recent economic slowdown. Domestic consumption has been robust and benefitted our real estate, banking, and auto businesses," Ayala president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement. "Meanwhile, our water distribution business continues to expand and improve efficiencies, while our telecom business faces significant competitive challenges. The fundamental drivers of the local economy remain in place which we believe will continue to fuel the growth of our key businesses. The improved global economic conditions also favorably impacted our electronics manufacturing and business process outsourcing services," he said. The second quarter's performance pushed the conglomerate's consolidated net income in the first half of the year to P4.4 billion, 9 percent higher year-on-year. Equity earnings in the first semester rose by 15 percent to P5.7 billion, with equity earnings from Ayala Land and Bank of the Philippine Islands up by 31 percent and 14 percent, respectively. This cushioned the impact of a 29-percent decline in equity earnings from Globe Telecom. Equity earnings from AC Capital units also improved significantly, reaching P915 million from P77 million in the same period last year, fueled by a significant rise in earnings of Manila Water, IMI, Ayala Auto, and LiveIt. LiveIt realized a revaluation gain of P2.3 billion during the period which helped offset the impact of the P1.7 billion impairment provisions undertaken by AG Holdings for its real estate assets in North America. "The development trends we see in various areas in the Philippines present opportunities for expansion and growth for each of our businesses. We consider our businesses well placed not only to capture these but also to expand their participation in the broader infrastructure space as we seek to contribute as a group to the country’s development agenda," Ayala Corp. chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala. -JE/OMG, GMANews.TV